Demerara-Mahaica

Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4) functions as the keystone territory of Guyana's oil transformation—containing Georgetown, the capital that processes the administrative, financial, and commercial flows from 43.6% GDP growth in 2024. When production surged to 645,000 barrels per day and the Natural Resource Fund accumulated $2.57 billion, the money flowed through Georgetown's banks, ministries, and port facilities.

The region concentrates both opportunity and risk. It reports the highest criminal activity levels (reflecting population density), hosts the Demerara Harbor Bridge replacement project ($260 million), and absorbs the construction boom reshaping the capital. The old floating bridge's replacement with a high-span modern structure will transform coastal connectivity—but the investment concentrates where development already concentrates.

Demerara-Mahaica's dominance will likely intensify as oil revenue scales. The Natural Resource Fund withdrawal of $2.3 billion projected for 2025 (46% increase from 2024) will flow primarily through Georgetown's fiscal mechanisms. Whether that wealth disperses to interior regions or concentrates further in the capital determines whether Guyana's oil boom creates broad prosperity or deepens geographic inequality. For now, Region 4 is where the action is.